1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a carpet cleaning composition. More particularly it relates to a carpet extraction cleaner composition having a neutral pH which combines a moderate and a low foaming surfactant to provide a cleaner composition with better cleaning capabilities than either surfactant alone. Further more the composition has a neutral pH which allows it to be used on all types of carpet including wool carpets without any of the adverse affects that current carpet cleaners exhibit.
2. Background Art
It is known in the art to use a mixture of nonionic surfactants as paste-form detergents. These are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,929,014. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,165 a cationic surfactant is disclosed to interact with a high foaming anionic detergent for use in carpet cleaning. U.S. Pat. No. 5,536,438 describes the use of four different nonionic surfactants for use in carpet cleaning with a good suds profile.
Neodol surfactants are moderate and low foaming available from Shell Chemicals. Tomadol surfactants are moderate and low foaming available from Tomah Products Inc.
The prior art does not provide a carpet cleaning composition which combines a moderate foaming and a low foaming surfactant. Low foaming surfactants are known to be less effective than high and moderate foaming surfactants. Quite unexpectedly it was found that when a moderate and a low foaming surfactant were combined a synergistic cleaning effect resulted. The carpet cleaning composition of the present invention has a neutral pH allowing it to be used on all types of carpets including wool carpets while maintaining a high cleaning ability.
The objects of the invention therefore are:
a. Providing an improved cleaning composition.
b. Providing an improved composition for cleaning carpets.
c. Providing a cleaning composition of the foregoing type which affords a synergistic cleaning effect.
d. Providing a cleaning composition of the foregoing type which is low foaming through typical carpet extraction equipment.
e. Providing a cleaning composition of the foregoing type which can also be employed for cleaning fabrics and hard surfaces.
f. Providing a cleaning composition of the foregoing type which has a neutral pH.
The foregoing objects are accomplished and the shortcomings of the prior art are overcome by the cleaning composition of this invention which includes a moderate foaming surfactant, a low foaming surfactant and water.
In a preferred embodiment the moderate and low foaming surfactants are alkoxylated surfactants and the cleaning composition is a carpet cleaner.
In another embodiment the ratio of the moderate foaming to low foaming surfactant is 1:1 to 4:1, respectively.
In one aspect, the composition includes a hydrotrope.
In another aspect, the moderate foaming alkoxylated surfactant is a linear primary alcohol ethoxylate with about 6 moles of ethylene oxide, which also includes a low foaming ethoxylated tridecyl alcohol surfactant.
These and still other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description which follows. In the detailed description below preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in reference to the full scope of the invention. Rather, the invention may be employed in other embodiments.